Michael Bond - Wayfinding - September 2022

Our first in person gathering, a hybrid event streaming live from the Alpkit Ilkley store, to discuss Wayfinding with author Michael Bond along with Caddy from the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association and Emma Carroll Mountain Leader and navigation instructor.

We heard from each of our panel about how far they roamed as children, their favourite place names and preferred maps - Harveys Mountain Maps being a popular choice.

Michael explained how rats get lost when moved around in plastic carts, and what this means for our own sense of place when we're not paying attention to the journey.

Paying attention turns out to be massively important for our wayfinding ability, and how good navigators learn to enhance the senses that GPS devices are slowly switching off.

Getting lost together, we learnt how this feels, what to do if we are lost, and how rescuers try to find us again. Along with discussing why sometimes it's good to lose ourselves a little because of the discoveries we make in the process.

And we discovered how navigation skills are good for our mental health.

A captivating conversation about a fascinating book.

"Wayfinding was the book of 2021 for me. Inspired me to start learning more about formal navigation through nnas, and continue to enjoy getting lost." Rob

Big thanks to Alex and the team at Alpkit Ilkley for hosting.

Due to a slight technical hitch, our recording of the evening failed to capture footage of those in the room - apologies to Caddy and Emma!